1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a near-field optical probe and a method of manufacturing the same, and more particularly, to a near-field optical probe that can be applied to a near-field scanning optical microscope or a near-field optical data storage device and a method of manufacturing the near-field optical probe.
2. Description of the Related Art
A near-field scanning optical microscope examines optical characteristics of a sample with an optical resolution that is finer than the diffraction limit of an incident light. Two types of the near-field optical probes, a fiber type and a cantilever type probes are used for the near-field scanning optical microscope. A near-field optical data storage device has the advantage of high-density data storage. The size of an optical recording mark can be reduced to less than the diffraction limit of a recording light using a near-field optical probe.
Near-field optical probes that are used in the near-field scanning optical microscope or in the near-field optical data storage device can be classified into a silicon based cantilever type near-field optical probe, a silicon based slider type near-field optical probe, or an optical fiber type near-field optical probe. The near-field optical probes manufactured on a silicon substrate are mechanically more stable and suitable for mass-production.
The method of manufacturing a near-field optical probe using a silicon substrate uses manufacturing processes partially in common with a conventional method of manufacturing optical probes for atomic force microscope. However, the significant difference of the method of manufacturing near-field optical probe using the silicon substrate is that an aperture in a tip is formed so that the near field of the light can be generated at the apex of the tip. The method of manufacturing a near-field optical probe is more difficult and complicated than the method of manufacturing optical probes for an atomic force microscope.
In particular, when a silicon substrate is used, it is technically difficult to combine a manufacturing process of tips having an aperture with a manufacturing process of a cantilever arm including the tips. Also, when a silicon substrate is used, it is difficult to substantially control the size of the aperture at an end of the tips which are in the nanometer region.